This invention relates to mounting dental models on articulators, and more particularly to preparing a number of dental articulators in a uniform fashion so that separate upper and lower dental models may be interchangeably mounted on the different articulators while still maintaining a proper alignment between the upper and lower models.
Formerly, it was common for dental models to be fixed to an articulator so that work on the dental models was done while the models were attached to the articulator. Recent advances have allowed dental models to be removably attached to articulators so that work on the dental model (such as the processing of a dental prosthesis) can be accomplished while the model is separated from the articulator. Following processing, the dental model could then be reattached to the articulator so that the fit of the dental prosthesis and the relationship between the opposing dental models could be reviewed. Such a system for removably attaching a dental model to an articulator is shown in parent application Ser. No. 08/085,812, filed Jul. 6, 1993, for METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING A DENTAL MODEL TO AN ARTICULATOR.
Even with the above-noted advances for mounting dental models to articulators, dental labs and technicians are still hampered by the problem that, once mounted to a certain articulator, the dental prosthesis and models must remain with that particular articulator to preserve the proper relationship and alignment between the upper and lower dental models. Thus, dental labs typically utilize inexpensive or disposable articulators when fashioning and mounting a dental model so that the articulator can be sent to the dentist along with the dental prosthesis to allow the dentist to properly review the working relationship between the prosthesis and the upper and lower dental models. Frequently, these disposable articulators are not adjustable and are capable of only a hinge opening.
The use of such inexpensive or disposable articulators necessarily reduces the accuracy with which the movements of a patient's jaw can be reproduced, and thus reduces the accuracy with which the dental prosthesis can be fabricated. While it would be desirable to use fully adjustable articulators in the preparation of a dental prosthesis, the cost of such an articulator would likely be prohibitive since the articulator must be sent by the dental lab to the dentist along with the models and the prosthesis.
It is against this background that even further significant improvements and advancements have evolved in the field of systems for removably attaching a dental model to an articulator.